The present disclosure relates generally to gasifiers for converting a carbonaceous feedstock, such as coal, biomass or petcoke, into a synthesis gas.
The gasification of coal and petcoke to synthesis gas (syngas), e.g. a gas mixture primarily comprised of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, is an effective industrial process used in the chemical and power industries. Gasification units produce a very fine slag and water soluble species (hydrochloric acid, among others) that must be scrubbed from the product syngas stream prior to use downstream. The processes to scrub the syngas may be relatively complex, energy intensive and expensive. Furthermore, the process generates relatively large quantities of wastewater with existing gasification technologies, as these do not offer a convenient, cost-effective way to separate the ash and water soluble species from the scrubber water.